NextGen Energy Miser Home Shows High-Tech Efficiency at CES

Traveling display shows how LED lighting, home control, energy-saving HVAC work together.

How can home technologies save us money in our homes now? The NextGen Energy Miser home display at the 2012 CES in Las Vegas shows several energy efficient products and demonstrates first-hand how they can be integrated into one automated control system.

“We wanted to make it very efficient, but not by putting solar panels on the roof,” says Paul Barnett, CEO of iShow Media. “We want to show people the things they can do.”

The walk-through home features energy-efficient LED lighting, super-efficient heating and cooling and a tankless hot water heater. The home also features green insulation and digitally controlled door locks and other cutting-edge technologies. And it’s all operated by a slick control and automation system.

Here’s a peek at the tech stuffed into this efficient space, all of it possible today.

Home ControlSavant’s Apple-based home control and automation system is operated via in-wall and tabletop iPads that bring up music, dim the lights, adjust the temperatures in the various rooms, you name it. Savant’s SmartEnergy Monitor shows energy usage on the iPad displays, and with a press on an area like heating you can go to those control options. A handheld Savant Select remote that combines an iPod touch with easy to access hard buttons can also control a TV, and users can operate the system through Savant’s innovative TrueCommand interface with icons that scroll across the screen. Savant routes three zones of muitroom audio through the structure.

LightingLeviton’s Vizia RF+ wireless Z-Wave-based lighting control system operates Philips‘ super-energy-efficient 12-watt PAR30L and 13-watt AmbientLED LED lights in the ceilings. Also showcased is Philips’ prize-winning 10-watt LED lamp that replaces a typical 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Electronic LocksBaldwin and Kwikset keyless entry deadbolts and handlesets enable entry to a home with only a few button pushes. The front door hardware can communicate with other smart devices in a home such to set lighting and temperature levels when someone unlocks the door.

Tankless Water HeaterSEISCO’s Starship line of point‐of‐use tankless heaters, available in spring, can be used as dedicated point‐of‐use heaters or as boosters to an existing hot water source. A mixing chamber provides a small amount of ready heated water after first use and prevents scalding.

HVACCarrier’s Infinity heating and cooling system provides high-efficient heating, cooling and air purification.

Also Starring
Energy Star-rated appliances from Whirlpool are shown, while a SunBrite outdoor TV and Leviton’s Evr-Green 120 Portable Charger to juice-up electric vehicles are featured outside the home.

Green Building Materials
Energy efficient siding from Mitten and metal roofing from Decra are two products that deliver lower maintenance cost, while contributing to lower energy bills. And some of the most important aspects of energy efficiency are provided by Intertape Polymer Group’s synthetic roof underlayment and housewrap, flashing to make doors and windows airtight and insulation fabric to hold blown-in Icyne insulation in place.